Fuel treating devices have been known since at least the second world war. A well documented wartime success story tells of Henry Broquet, a young RAF technician who worked with Russian scientists and developed a metallic fuel catalyst which enabled the Rolls Royce Merlin engines in RAF Hurricane fighter planes loaned to the Russians to help in the war effort, to run on low-octane fuel available at that time in Russia.
This invention and others have led to the development of a highly varied quantity of devices for enhancing the burning properties of hydrocarbon liquid fuels. The fuel modification devices of the prior art are believed to belong to three broad groups. The first group utilizes magnetic energy; the second group uses a catalytic action or a combination of a magnetic-catalytic action, and the third group utilizes an electrolytic-catalytic reaction.
Examples of fuel modification devices of the first group wherein the fuel is circulated across or along the flux lines of a magnetic field, are disclosed in the following patent documents:
U.S. Pat. No. 4,050,426 issued on Sep. 27, 1977 to C. H. Sanderson; PA0 U.S. Pat. No. 4,201,140 issued on May 6, 1980 to T. G. Robinson; PA0 U.S. Pat. No. 4,254,393 issued on Mar. 3, 1981 to T. G. Robinson; PA0 U.S. Pat. No. 4,357,237 issued on Nov. 2, 1982 to C. H. Sanderson; PA0 U.S. Pat. No. 4,372,852 issued on Feb. 8, 1983 to A. J. Kovacs; PA0 U.S. Pat. No. 4,381,754 issued on May 3, 1983 to K. Heckel; PA0 U.S. Pat. No. 4,461,262 issued on Jul. 24, 1984 to E. Chow; PA0 U.S. Pat. No. 4,568,901 issued on Feb. 4, 1986 to H. J. Adam; PA0 U.S. Pat. No. 4,569,737 issued on Feb. 11, 1986 to H. Sakata; PA0 U.S. Pat. No. 4,716,024 issued on Dec. 29, 1987 to I. Pera; PA0 U.S. Pat. No. 4,808,306 issued on Feb. 28, 1989 to J. Mitchell et al.; PA0 U.S. Pat. No. 4,999,106 issued on Mar. 12, 1991 to R. H. Schindler; PA0 U.S. Pat. No. 5,048,498 issued on Sep. 17, 1991 to A. Cardan; PA0 U.S. Pat. No. 5,059,743 issued on Oct. 22, 1991 to T. Sakuma; PA0 U.S. Pat. No. 5,076,246 issued on Dec. 31, 1991 to B. Onyszczuk; PA0 U.S. Pat. No. 5,124,045 issued on Jun. 23, 1992 to A. Janczak et al.; PA0 U.S. Pat. No. 5,127,385 issued on Jul. 7, 1992 to R. V. Dalupin; PA0 U.S. Pat. No. 5,129,382 issued on Jul. 14, 1992 the R. D. Stamps, Sr. et al.; PA0 U.S. Pat. No. 5,161,512 issued on Nov. 10, 1992 to L. L. Adam et al.; PA0 U.S. Pat. No. 5,227,683 issued on Jul. 13, 1993 to C. Clair; PA0 U.S. Pat. No. 5,269,916 issued on Dec. 14, 1993 to C. Clair; PA0 U.S. Pat. No. 5,487,370 issued on Jan. 30, 1996 to M. Miyazaki; PA0 U.S. Pat. No. 5,520,158 issued on May 28, 1996 to D. G. Williamson; PA0 U.S. Pat. No. 5,533,490 issued on Jul. 9, 1996 to P. Brian; PA0 U.S. Pat. No. 5,589,065 issued on Dec. 31, 1996 to J. G. Bogatin et al.; PA0 U.S. Pat. No. 5,671,719 issued on Sep. 30, 1997 to T. Y. Jeong; PA0 U.S. Pat. No. 2,231,605 issued on Feb. 11, 1941 to W. G. Stephenson et al.; PA0 U.S. Pat. No. 4,429,665 issued on Feb. 7, 1984 to B. H. Brown; PA0 U.S. Pat. No. 4,517,926 issued on May 21, 1985 to G. G. Reinhard et al.; PA0 U.S. Pat. No. 4,715,325 issued on Dec. 29, 1987 to C. W. Walker; PA0 U.S. Pat. No. 4,930,483 issued on Jun. 5, 1990 to W. R. Jones; PA0 U.S. Pat. No. 5,013,450 issued on May 7, 1991 to L. Gomez; PA0 U.S. Pat. No. 5,048,499 issued on Sep. 17, 1991 to C. L. Daywalt; PA0 U.S. Pat. No. 5,059,217 issued on Oct. 22, 1991 to M. L. Arroyo et al.; PA0 U.S. Pat. No. 5,167,782 issued on Dec. 1, 1992 to J. R. Marlow; PA0 U.S. Pat. No. 5,197,446 issued on Mar. 30, 1993 to C. L. Daywalt et al.; PA0 U.S. Pat. No. 5,249,552 issued on Oct. 5, 1993 to D. M. Brooks; PA0 U.S. Pat. No. 5,307,779 issued on May 3, 1994 to D. W. Wood et al.; PA0 U.S. Pat. No. 5,368,705 issued on Nov. 29, 1994 to S. Cassidy; PA0 U.S. Pat. No. 5,393,723 issued on Feb. 28, 1995 to A. W. Finkl; PA0 U.S. Pat. No. 5,404,913 issued on Apr. 11, 1995 to M. Gilligan; PA0 U.S. Pat. No. 5,524,594 issued on Jun. 11, 1996 to G. D'Alessandro; PA0 U.S. Pat. No. 5,533,490 issued on Jul. 9, 1996 to B. Pascall; PA0 U.S. Pat. No. 5,580,359 issued on Dec. 3, 1996 to R. Wright; PA0 U.S. Pat. No. 5,738,692 issued on Apr. 14, 1998 to R. H. Wright; PA0 U.S. Pat. No. 4,968,396 issued on Nov. 6, 1990 to D. M. Harvey; PA0 U.S. Pat. No. 5,154,807 issued on Oct. 13, 1992 to D. M. Harvey; PA0 U.S. Pat. No. 5,431,797 issued on Jul. 11, 1995 to D. M. Harvey;
The effect of a magnetic field is believed to orientate the molecules in the fuel. It is also believed that the magnetic field reduces the surface tension of the fuel to allow a more complete vaporization and a better oxidation. It is further believed that the magnetization of a fuel breaks down the bonds between the hydrocarbon chains which result in decreased density and, hence, smaller particles and droplets during atomization or injection within an internal combustion engine. Smaller particles and droplets causes increased evaporation rates, improved mixing of fuel with air, and improved promotion of oxidation.
According to Colonel Clair in U.S. Pat. No. 5,227,683, in particular, the application of magnetism to hydrocarbon fuels is known to ionize the molecules of the fuel. Such ionization is taught to be very effective in increasing the combustion efficiency of hydrocarbon fuels by affording a more complete mixing of the fuel and air molecules. Furthermore, Minoru Miyazaki teaches in U.S. Pat. No. 5,487,370, that magnetic forces tend to separate fuel particles into smaller fragments for an improved combustion efficiency.
Examples of fuel modification devices of the second group wherein the fuel is brought into intimate contact with a metallic alloy having catalytic properties, are disclosed in the following series of patent documents. In these documents, it is taught generally, that the catalyst coming into contact with the hydrocarbon fuel alters the distribution of electrical charges across the structure of the fuel molecules to enhance atomization of the fuel prior to combustion. Some of the disclosed devices use a magnetic or electric field in close proximity of the catalyst. These documents are as follows:
Although the mechanics or chemistry involved in the effects of a catalyst over hydrocarbon fuels remains largely unexplained, Claud W. Walker for example, teaches in U.S. Pat. No. 4,715,325, that placing an hydrocarbon fuel in intimate contact with a crystalline metal alloy containing copper, zinc, nickel, lead and tin, causes a polarization of the molecules of the fuel, or a change in electrostatic potential of the flowing hydrocarbon molecules to achieve increased performance, and consequently better gasoline mileage.
Ralph H. Wright offers a rational explanation for the catalytic transformation of a fuel in U.S. Pat. No. 5,738,692. The teachings of this patent are that a gasoline treatment using a catalyst containing tin, antimony, lead and mercury appears to increase octane and energy content of gasoline by forming aromatic compounds, most likely by cracking longer-chain paraffins. When the same catalyst is used with diesel fuels, the long-chain paraffins appear to be broken up to form lower molecular weight saturated alkanes which are more efficiently burned.
In the third group of fuel modification devices of the prior art using a catalytic and electrolytic pre-treatment of hydrocarbon fuels, the following examples are found:
In the first above-mentioned patent, Draper M. Harvey teaches that the combined catalytic-electrolytic pre-treatment of hydrocarbon fuel tends to modify or alter the structure of the fuel, generating hydroxyl ions and hydrogen oxides within the fuel the former having been found effective to scavenge or substantially eliminate undesired combustion by-products such as carbon monoxides, hydrocarbon particulate and nitrogen oxide. It has been found that the hydrogen oxides within the fuel mixture act beneficially as a fuel additive to reduce octane requirement. The hydrogen oxides also serve as effective carriers of primary oil lubricants to reduce wear factors of engine components.
In the invention of the second-mentioned U.S. Pat. No. 5,154,807, a zinc-silver anode-cathode is used to extract one atom of hydrogen from molecules of water present in the fuel to promote the formation of the scavenging hydroxyl ions (OH).
Although the fuel modification devices and methods of the prior art deserve undeniable merits, there is no known prior art that combines the advantages of a catalytic action, magnetic energy, and an electrolytic reaction in a simple and compact embodiment which can be used on internal combustion engines and burners of boilers and furnaces alike for improving the combustion properties of the fuel burnt in these equipment. Furthermore, there is no known prior art which combines a catalytic action complemented by magnetic energy and an electrolytic reaction for advantageously using the water impurities within the fuel, for breaking down these water impurities, and for modifying the fuel by adding to it a corresponding quantity of oxygen and hydrogen molecules.